Chicago Teen Gunned Down In Front Of Mother Over ‘Dirty Looks’

Alan Padilla, 17, has been charged with 1st-degree murder in the death of 17-year-old Jalen Stogner. Click here to read more at NewsOne.

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So far in Chicago this weekend, 7 people have been shot, including 17-year-old Jalen Stogner, who was gunned down in front of his mother and younger brothers, 11- and 4-year old, at a laundromat, reports theChicago Tribune.

Stogner was assisting his mother when he exchanged “dirty looks” with another man, leading to an altercation. When the man pulled out his gun, the teen attempted to run, but was shot in the side of his back. According to the Tribune, Stogner’s mother became “frozen” when she saw the weapon and his little brother dropped the detergent in horror.

“Just to see my son lying in that puddle of blood, and I couldn’t do nothing to save him,” said Marla Stogner. “I just called and screaming his name and he just wasn’t responding.”

“I was just calling his name, just calling his name to see if he could hear my voice,” Stogner said to the Tribune. “‘Just hold on,’ I was just telling him to hold on.”

The shooting occurred in Chicago’s Back of the Yards neighborhood at approximately 4:20 p.m Friday afternoon. Jalen Stogner was pronounced dead at Stroger Hospital less than an hour later at 5:11 p.m.

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As previously reported by NewsOne, more Americans have been murdered in Chicago in 2012, than in Afghanistan, making it a home-grown war zone. By July 23, 294 Chicago residents had been killed; that number quadrupled New York City’s rate and doubled Los Angeles’ rate.

346 people have been killed in Chicago overall this year, compared with 265 during the same period last year, reports ABC News.

According to RedEyeChicago.com, there were 55 homicides in Chicago in the month of August (Stogner’s death presumably making number 56), making it the deadliest month this year.

“The police are doing their best. … but they can only do so much,” said Stogner. “We’re fighting a war. We need some soldiers over here to help with this war right here in the city, ’cause that’s what this is. A war. … Get control back of our city and our streets because too many kids are dying.”